Weather Service in Seattle says cold, sunny days ahead

Published 11:03 pm Friday, December 4, 2009

Anyone who’s tired of the rain after the series of storms that pelted the region in November is in for some good news.

The dry streak that began earlier this week is projected to hang around until Wednesday and possibly beyond.

“This looks like a pretty prolonged stretch,” said Andy Haner, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.

The downside? It will be cold.

Temperatures in Everett are forecast to reach a high of only 38 degrees today and the mid- or low 30s on Sunday and Monday. Nighttime lows are forecast to dip into the mid- or low 20s.

The cloud cover that acts as a blanket this time of year will mostly be gone the next few days, Haner said.

“If there is precipitation anytime in the next week, it would be cold enough to snow,” Haner said.

That’s not expected, though.

“There’s an outside chance of a flurry. It would be brief, it would be light,” he said.

During cold periods, more people use their fireplaces and wood stoves and sometimes the pollution hangs close to the ground, according to officials with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

This week, though, air quality in the area is expected to be good, said Amy Warren, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Winds aren’t predicted to be strong but breezes will keep the air swept out, she said.

Still, people who burn wood are encouraged to use practices that keep smoke and pollution down, such as using dry, seasoned wood, Warren said. Information on clean heating practices may be found on the agency’s Web site at www.pscleanair.org.

For information on clean heating rebates, visit the Web site for the Snohomish County Public Utility District at www.snopud.com or Puget Sound Energy at www.pse.com.

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439, sheets@heraldnet.com.